the blog

FPN will take you along a journey of cheap eats, fine dining and anything else in between. I do love to cook so the occasional recipe will be thrown in for good measure. Tried and tested of course! Enjoy x

Just when Dixon st couldn’t get any better it graces us with a delicious Hong Kong style eatery serving up Cantonese food in a casual ‘dai pai dong‘ setting. It’s hard not get too excited while you wait outside with the pork bun enshrined capsules, glistening BBQ ducks and live seafood tanks looking sweetly at you.

Old Town Hong Kong Cuisine has a great mix of value and deliciousness. Atmosphere is buzzy, service incredibly warm and friendly. I’m just so used to it hard and fast, so I’m a little dumbfounded at how pleasant it all is.

What’s hot on everyone’s lips? The baos of course. With their variety of char siu ($7 for two), pork (siu yuk – $8) or Peking duck ($8). In fact, Old Hong Kong Town appears to be one of the better places serving up value for money Peking duck – half duck ($35) or whole duck ($65) with a second course of san choi bao.

We’ve all gone a bit ramen mad. Myself included. So it should be no surprise that I find myself at Ramen Ikkyu like the rest of the other mad hatters. There has been a lot of hype surrounding this place with us ramenites counting down the days until its launch, ready to dive in and test the waters.

It is now 4 weeks since its opening day and the aim of the game is to sell 150 bowls of ramen a day. If they sell out then they shut up shop. No matter what time of day it is. Noodles are hand made by Chef Haru himself and are aged for 2 days. Hurrahh… While their signature broth is prepared in 160 litre pots filled with chicken and pork bones – referred to as their paitan broth.

To back track, Chef Haru Inukai started serving ramen as a lunch special back when he was the Head Chef of BlancHaru. The ramen special was so popular it caught on to the likes of fellow ramen lover Chef Dan Hong who notably sung its praises. It was no sooner that the public caught on to the cult of BlancHaru’s ramen that there were lines forging its way down Elizabeth Bay Road. It was then Chef Haru decided to give it all up and go all guns blazing to open up his very own ramen house.

I always feel so bad when I am given the obligatory show and tell of the live crab before it goes under the knife. But then there’s the other part of me that says, “Well… it’s really the only way to eat crab. Can’t wait!”

Growing up, I used to enjoy the thrill of the kill. I would eagerly and hungrily keep my eye out on the most liveliest crab, where I would point out, “That one!” Now, I don’t even recognise myself anymore…

Before – live mud crab

Super Bowl is a personal favourite of mine. Food is always delicious, cheap and served to you in your traditional Hong Kong (Honkie) style eatery. You have communal seating with plastic chairs, food served and moving at warped speed while patrons are merrily burping and slurping away. Hong Kong, eat your heart out.

Here you can find mud crab w ginger and shallot sauce, a traditional Chinese favourite. The crab is sweet, fleshy and cooked to perfection. And the sauce is simply out of this world. It will have you double dipping and spooning for more.